The Clovis City Commission will meet 5:15 p.m. Thursday at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library.

The agenda includes:

• A request to relocate prairie dogs on city land to Ector County, Texas, and use of water to help facilitate that animals’ removal from the ground.

Citizens for Prairie Dogs has twice sought city clearance to move the animals from Goodwin Lake, Ned Houk Park and O.G. Potter Park. The first time, Chaves County officials voiced opposition and the city commission voted the item down. The commission gave conditional approval to a move to Mitchell County, Texas, but Mitchell County officials made it clear the animals were not welcome there either.

SALT LAKE CITY — As part of an ongoing effort to preserve habitat for Utah prairie dogs yet offset their impacts to rural airports, 800 acres of school trust lands property will be sold to The Nature Conservancy.

The transaction, announced Tuesday, happened with Federal Aviation Administration dollars, with the agency planning to pay $800,000 to the Utah School & Institutional Trust Lands Administration.

In exchange, the conservancy will get 800 acres of prime prairie dog habitat on Johnson’s Bench in Garfield County.

By the end of December, 2012, 200 to 250 prairie dogs will be relocated to Broomfield’s Great Western Reservoir Open Space to accommodate the expansion of the city’s Lake Link Trial. The prairie dogs, who are currently living in open space behind Legacy High School, are being moved to allow for a new section of paved trail that will run through the area they currently inhabit. The prairie dogs will be moved by volunteers using non-lethal relocation methods such as humane traps. This particular project, and the policies it implements, demonstrates the city’s prairie dog management policies, and also highlights some of the main issues with current prairie dog conservation methods.

As grievances with prairie dogs continue to grow throughout the West and colonies are being demolished, someone needs to be a strong voice for these tiny creatures. The Prairie Dog Coalition is dedicated to the protection of imperiled prairie dogs and restoration of their ecosystems.

A fortunate few have seen prairie dogs as they nibble on grass, run between burrows, touch noses and kiss. And it’s heartbreaking to know one day their presence may be gone. Survival of the prairie dog is critical to the continued existence of the prairie ecosystem–one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world.

Nine different wildlife species depend on prairie dog populations and their habitat for their survival. Endangered black-footed ferrets, owls, hawks, foxes and about 200 other species are associated with prairie dogs and their habitat. By planning ahead and working prairie dogs into open space plans, we can help direct their path of migration to the best habitats for them. By setting aside conservation areas for this native, keystone animal we can enjoy the prairie dogs and their associated species in our natural environment.

Prairie dogs now occupy just 2 percent to 8 percent of their historic range, and without serious conservation efforts, they may soon disappear. We have a responsibility to do everything we can to help the prairie dog ecosystem recover so that future generations can enjoy healthy wildlife populations, too.

Training volunteers and professional wildlife biologists on the latest nonlethal techniques to manage prairie dog populations humanely is a good first step to help protect these animals and restore their ecosystems. To ensure the protection of prairie dogs and their ecosystem, we must work together. The Prairie Dog Coalition, managed by The Humane Society of the United States, is working to fulfill this mission by providing information and advocacy training, facilitating communication and planning, and promoting conservation projects.

Ultimately, a conscious concern for these animals is necessary for retaining the beauty and majestic nature that is the prairie dog and the North American grasslands. Help us put an end to their demise and invigorate the prairie ecosystem once again.

Similar Species: White-tailed and Utah prairie dogs have white in center of tail rather than grayish. Black-tailed Prairie Dog’s tail has black tip.

Breeding: 1 litter per year of 1–8 young, born in early May; gestation 27–33 days, pups emerge mid June.

Habitat: Short grass prairies in high mountain valleys and plateaus of southern Rocky Mountains at elevations of 6,000–12,000’ (1,800–3,600 m). Habitat is much more variable topographically and vegetationally than that of the Black-tailed Prairie Dog, which occurs at lower elevations.

Range: Southeastern Utah, south and central Colorado, northeast and central Arizona, and northwest New Mexico.

Discussion: The Gunnison’s Prairie Dog, like the rest of its kin, is active only when the sun is up, and is most energetic near dawn and dusk. It is constantly vigilant while aboveground, often sitting upright on its hind feet while it pursues its main activities: mainly feeding, but also grooming and playing. This animal generally is seen from April to October. It hibernates (torpor) in winter, living on stored body fat. It usually emerges in April, though they will emerge earlier if the winter is mild. Gunnison’s Prairie Dog feeds on green vegetation, particularly grasses, but also forbs, sedges, and shrubs, as well as a few insects. Its colonies are generally smaller and less closely knit than those of other prairie dogs, resembling ground squirrel aggregations, with fewer than 50 to 100 individuals. The animals in the colony cannot always see one another because their habitat is in such varied and patchy terrain, which is caused in part by human activities. On flat ground and where this prairie dog is protected colonies are much larger and more extensive. This species’ burrow systems can be up to 80 feet long and 16 feet deep in well-established colonies. Burrows can have food storage, flood, nesting, communal and excrement chambers. Territoriality is not well developed in Gunnison’s Prairie Dog, although old males may defend small areas outside their burrows. Mother-young relationships form the basic social unit. Newborns remain in the burrow about three weeks before emerging and are weaned about three weeks later. The female sits almost straight up on her haunches to nurse her young, who suckle either pectoral or inguinal (hind leg) nipples. Gunnison’s alarm call, distinctive among prairie dogs, is important to the survival and structure of the community. It is a series of high-pitched barks of one or two distinct syllables, with the second syllable lower and more guttural. The call may be repeated frequently and may continue for as long as half an hour. It increases in intensity as danger escalates, and ends in chatter as the animal enters its burrow. Predators include American Badgers, Coyotes, weasels, and raptors. Plague (Yersina pestis), carried by fleas, can decimate populations of this species. However, humans, through their extermination programs, are the chief enemy of Gunnison’s Prairie Dog.